Bangladesh boosted their bowling stocks by including one of their most promising finds of 2016 © AFP Mashrafe Mortaza, the Bangladesh captain, opted to bat first in the third and final ODI against New Zealand at the Saxton Oval in Nelson. That both sides were playing on the same surface as the one on Thursday, Mashrafe said, influenced their decision on what was a “darker looking surface.” Mustafizur Rahman, who…
Paul Adams to step down as Cobras coach
Paul Adams: “Helping the team to succeed in ways which led to a number of trophies and getting players going up to the Proteas was a very satisfying part of my five-season journey as Cobras’ coach” © Getty Images Paul Adams will step down as Cape Cobras coach from January 1 to be redeployed as Western Cape Cricket high performance manager and coach. This follows a prolonged period of player…
Junaid, Farhad help Rajshahi chase down 385
File photo – Nasir Hossain struck his maiden first-class double-century against Sylhet Division © Raton Gomes/BCB Tier – 2 Rajshahi Division reached the third-highest successful chase in Bangladesh’s first-class cricket, overcoming a target of 385 by eight wickets against Chittagong Division at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Unbeaten centuries from Junaid Siddique and Farhad Hossain helped set up the victory, as they chased down the target in 65.2 overs, with…
Lynn, McCullum make light work of 174 chase
Brisbane Heat 3 for 174 (Lynn 84*, McCullum 72) beat Hobart Hurricanes 9 for 173 (Christian 33, Wildermuth 2-26, Steketee 2-29) by seven wicketsScorecard and ball-by-ball details Chris Lynn struck an unbeaten half-century and the winning runs for the second successive match © Getty Images Fireworks are common place on New Year’s Eve, but 24 hours out from year-end celebrations, Brendon McCullum and Chris Lynn put on a pyrotechnic display…
Du Plessis praises groundsman for quelling Herath's threat
Faf du Plessis heaped praised on his trio of pace bowlers after the 206-run victory © AFP As much as South Africa succeeded in scoring the runs and taking the wickets they needed to beat Sri Lanka, they also managed to make use of home advantage by blunting the opposition’s biggest threat. Unusually, the most spinner-friendly surface in the country offered little turn and barely deteriorated despite a severe dry…
Terrible shots led to our downfall – Mathews
Angelo Mathews praised Kusal Mendis for taking on the bowlers and playing attacking cricket © AFP Angelo Mathews has blamed shot selection in both innings for Sri Lanka’s 206-run defeat in Port Elizabeth. Both South Africa’s totals were higher than Sri Lanka’s, and only two of the visiting batsmen mustered half-centuries. Both of those also came in improved batting conditions in the second innings. Three of the top four were…
Terrible shots in second innings were our downfall – Mathews
Angelo Mathews praised Kusal Mendis for taking on the bowlers and playing attacking cricket © AFP Angelo Mathews has blamed shot selection in both innings for Sri Lanka’s 206-run defeat in Port Elizabeth. Both South Africa’s totals were higher than Sri Lanka’s, and only two of the visiting batsmen mustered half-centuries. Both of those also came in improved batting conditions in the second innings. Three of the top four were…
Papps, Blundell flatten Northen Districts in 176 chase
Wellington 179 for 1 (Papps 80*, Blundell 69*) beat Northern Districts 175 for 2 (Anderson 72*, Watling 58, Elliott 1-22) by nine wicketsScorecard File photo – Michael Papps’ career-best effort helped Wellington chase down a stiff target with ease © Getty Images Blistering half-centuries from Michael Papps and Tom Blundell helped Wellington chase down a 176-run target with an over and nine wickets to spare against Northern Districts in Hamilton….
Misbah has 'no explanation' for Pakistan implosion
Misbah-ul-Haq said that Pakistan gave the momentum back to Australia and, once that happened, they were in no position to attack © Getty Images Edgbaston, Dubai, Sharjah, Christchurch, Hamilton, and now Melbourne: Pakistan’s rise to the No. 1 Test spot and subsequent fall has been punctuated by a series of spectacular batting collapses. On the final day at the MCG, on a still-pristine pitch on which Australia had added 159…
Azhar Ali retained as captain for Australia ODIs
Azhar Ali has had a tough time as captain since he took up the role in March 2015, soon after the World Cup © Getty Images Azhar Ali has been retained as Pakistan’s ODI captain for the five-match series against Australia starting January 13 in Brisbane. Fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, who missed the limited-overs as well as Test series against West Indies in the UAE, returns to the squad, while…